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Thursday, January 9, 2014

Peanut Butter Cup Pancakes?

Because sometimes you have to post recipes that didn't quite go as planned...

Mmmm, peanut butter. It makes everything better, don't you think? Well, maybe you don't think so, but there is a certain someone in my life who absolutely adores the stuff. And since I fully subscribe to the notion that "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach," I've made it my mission to supply my man of interest with all the PB recipes his heart (or stomach) desires. So, for New Year's day, I planned a slam-bang brunch for us, including what would have been some delectable peanut butter cup pancakes! Except, that's not exactly how it happened...

In my world, pancakes fall under the category of baking. Not because they're baked in an oven, but because they involve the same ingredients as baked goods, and you can't just make that sh*t up! So I attempted to modify a pancake recipe I pulled from the internet. My plan was to add in chocolate chips and swirl in peanut butter while the batter was in the pan. And it worked! Um, kind of...

OK, so here's what happened. First, I had the burner up too high, so the chocolate in the first 'cake burned. Bummer, dude. Also, the pan I was using wasn't nonstick, so the pancake wasn't happy about leaving in one piece. Switch pans, reduce heat. Next try!

OK, this time, the peanut butter stuck to the pan, resulting in a fall-aparty pancake. Dang it.

Solution! After swirling PB in the batter, PUT MORE BATTER OVER IT.

It's a little embarrassing that it took me several failed pancakes to reach this conclusion. BUT! at least we each got to enjoy one pancake a piece mostly how I had envisioned them to be. I may try this again some other time. However, if you are feeling up to the challenge, and are way better at pancake-making than I am, I'll post the recipe below. [Adapted from this recipe.]

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, stirring to mix well. Add in milk and flax/water mix and stir until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
Heat a non-stick skillet pan on medium heat. Scoop about 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan. Using a small spoon or knife, swirl approx 1 Tbsp peanut butter into the batter. Top with additional batter (I would guess about 2-3 Tbsp, or until the PB is mostly covered). Flip pancake when the top is bubbly and edges are starting to look dry (I didn't time this, maybe 4 minutes?). When the second side is cooked, remove from pan. Repeat with remaining batter and PB. I think we got about 6 pancakes out of this.
Top with a peanut butter cup, to make it look cute. Serve as is, unless you feel like you need the sugar shock of adding maple syrup. Look, I'm not here to tell you what to do. They're your pancakes. Enjoy them how you please. I won't judge.